Women of Color Media Justice

Saturday, May 29, 2010

The second annual Youth Media Education Conference will be sponsored by the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission and the Women of Color Media Justice Initiative on June 3, 2010 at California State Dominguez Hills’ Loker Student Union. Students from Crenshaw, Gardena, Washington Prep and King-Drew Medical Magnet High Schools, in addition to Bret Harte and Clay Middle Schools, have been invited to participate. The conference will involve students in youth presentations on media literacy and advocacy workshops and socially conscious youth musical performance. Topics will include improving media representations of young women and men of color, addressing violence against women of color in music and video, developing positive images of masculinity and male responsibility, highlighting LGBT youth perspectives on the media, undocumented youth advocacy and media and designing alternative media by countering the influence racist, sexist and homophobic media stereotypes have on youth behaviors and mental health.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

On June 4th, 130 students and adults from Gardena, Crenshaw, Dorsey and King-Drew Medical Magnet High Schools, in addition to Audubon and Horace Mann Middle Schools, participated in a Youth Media Education Symposium sponsored by the Women of Color Media Justice Initiative (WCMJI), with generous support from the California Women’s Foundation, the Gardena High School Healthy Start Collaborative and the Harbor Gateway Neighborhood Council. The event was held at California State Dominguez Hills’ Loker Student Union. Students and youth advocates presented on such issues as media literacy and advocacy which focused on analyzing media representations of young women and men of color, addressing violence against women of color in music and video, developing positive images of masculinity and male responsibility, and dissecting media stereotypes of LGBT communities of color. King-Drew Medical Magnet students opened the sessions with a presentation on academic stereotypes of South L.A. students. Women’s Leadership Project intern Diane Arellano and students Jeimy Noguera, Veronica Serrato, Clay Wesley and Jatoya Jackson from Gardena High School presented a workshop that examined the similarities in the history of media imagery of African American women and Latinas. Shaunelle Curry and Kelley Nicole of Mother’s Day Radio, D'Anthony Allen from Peace Over Violence, and riKu Matsuda from KPFK and the L.A. County Human Relations Commission also gave presentations to an engaged audience of diverse youth. Musician Nailah Porter provided inspirational words and songs on socially responsible music for the closing debrief session. The conference was moderated by WCMJI co-founder Sikivu Hutchinson.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Mother's Day Radio's exclusive artist interview with GINA RENE, multi-talented performance artist, featured in our upcoming "Ladies in White" Benefit Concert, sits down with Mother's Day Radio Executive Director, Shaunelle Curry to discuss this powerful movement to honor the value of womanhood.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Friday, May 8, 20097-9 pmVegan Village Community Room4061 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019Cost: $10 at the door or $15 for weekend package of events

Join us for this multi-media stage presentation about the universal power of women to overcome victimization and oppression. This production looks at the transcendent power of faith and the power of identification with the Divine Feminine Archetype. Featuring dramatic readings, live music by Ms. Kelley Nicole, visual art, slide show presentation and video interviews! Proceeds to benefit the Women of Color Media Justice Initiative.

Join us for an ocean-side tribute to our mothers, grandmothers, sisters and daughters. We stand in proxy for women everywhere who have been victims of violence and oppression. Featuring a Forgiveness and Gratitude Circle for the women and men that we love.

Bring in Mother's Day with live music, spoken word, fresh beats, dancing, laughter and the Spirit of Love! Join us as all-female singers, musicians, djs and spoken word artists rock the stage at Catch One! Proceeds to benefit the Women of Color Media Justice Initiative.

On Thursday, April 9, 2009, a group of Los Angeles men and women, concerned about the degradation of women and girls of color, gathered together to make a personal commitment to honoring the women and girls in their lives. Thus, began the work of creating a "Declaration for Honoring Womanhood."

"I commit to allowing each woman to be who she is without judgment or condemnation.""I commit to being a part of building communities for women of color.""I commit to honoring my true self as a woman of color."

Hosted by Mother's Day Radio and the Women of Color Media Justice Initiative, the evening opened with a snippet of the multimedia stage presentation, "Shattered Glass on the Kitchen Floor." It included dramatic readings of excerpts taken from Shaunelle Curry's book, Shairi's Journey Through Darkness Into Light, and original music by singer/songwriter Kelley Nicole.

The evening continued with an enriching discussion on practical methods for expressing respect in our personal thoughts, words and actions toward women. We answered the question: "How do I make respect and honor practical, tangible aspects of my daily life?"

The Commitment"I commit to try my best to speak from a place of love, not ego, when speaking, especially when there is conflict or time for critical analysis."

We created our personal commitment statements and began the work of formulating a "Declaration for Honoring Womanhood."

"I commit to coming into my own voice as a woman of color, and speaking up for what I believe in."

Monday, April 13, 2009

Shaunelle Curry and singer/songwriter Kelley Nicole will discuss "Respect: The Declaration, the Commitment."

We will also give you a taste of our snippet, "Shattered Glass on the Kitchen Floor," a multi-media stage presentation, presented in part tonight, April 9, 2009 @ Vegan Village Cafe, and in full at the Los Angeles premier on Friday, May 8, 2009 (Save the Date).

Women of Color Media Justice Initiative (WCMJI)

The Women of Color Media Justice Initiative (WCMJI) is a collaborative partnership of the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women, the Ida B. Wells Institute, Mother’s Day Radio and the Women’s Leadership Project (WLP), a service-learning program currently based at Gardena High School. The organization’s mission is to educate young women of color on the history and politics of media representations and how they influence cultural perceptions of race, gender and sexual orientation. WCMJI is dedicated to informing young women of color about how images are created, promoted and disseminated by the media as an industry, and engaging them in advocating for changes in media representation of women of color within the film, TV, print media and music industries. As a school-community based initiative, WCMJI provides young women with critical pedagogy and scholarship about the way the media shapes their world views, behaviors and perceptions by tying it to their lived experiences, home and community contexts.